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whole-house humidifier

Discussion in 'Homeowners Corner' started by lauralynne, Dec 14, 2009.

  1. lauralynne

    lauralynne Member

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    Hi everyone,

    We were thinking of having a whole-house humidifier (Aprilaire?) installed and were wondering if anyone else has one and what you think of it. I only know two people who have them, and both of them said that the humidifiers just didn't have a significant effect and were a waste of money. The dry air is really bothering me, and the daily maintenance of a one-room humidifier is too burdensome, so I would love to find an alternative. Thanks!
     
  2. PowerPlay

    PowerPlay Member

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    We had one installed by the builder at our previous house in Leesburg and it did absolutely NOTHING for us. It didn't run all the time but it still always felt dry.
     
  3. wahoogeek

    wahoogeek New Member

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    whole house humidifiers only operate when the furnace is operating and only if the humidity is lower than the value you set. So if your furnace is not running very much or you have it set very low, then it will not seem to work.

    We had an aprilaire installed and can vouch for their effectiveness (we have an inside hygrometer) to keep the winter indoor humidity in the 20-30% range.
     
  4. PowerPlay

    PowerPlay Member

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    Well ours must have sucked because our furnace ran nonstop for a month and it was still dry. We even had the builder come back to look at it several times. They said it was fine but noticed that it didn't seem to be doing it's job. Happy to hear it works for you, but I won't go this route again.
     
  5. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    well you need to be circulating air for it to do anything (hence the notion the furnace must be on) but you can also run the fan all the time. The computer controlled systems can do this automatically for you at low speeds, etc if you have a variable speed system.
     
  6. hornerjo

    hornerjo Senior Member

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    We had an aprilaire installed in our townhouse years ago, it makes a big difference to me in the winter. We have a lot less square feet than a single family however, and we also have our heat going mainly to the top 2 floors.
     
  7. Merlin

    Merlin New Member

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    We got a whole house humidifier mainly for my wife who has pretty decent allergies. I feel it works pretty well. It only does the basement/main floor but I think it's worth it. We moved from a townhouse with no whole house humidifier solution and had to purchase a room humidifer. In fact we would get nose bleeds quite frequently due to the dry air. The maintenance on the whole house is not too shabby. You basically have to replace the water panel 1X/2X per year. I've also replaced the inline water filter and the orifice (water metering device) after 5 years here and all is well. We have the Aprilaire model 700 with a manual switch. It pretty much runs the entire day. Hope this helps,
     
  8. home_owner

    home_owner New Member

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    I've had persistent problems with dry/irritated skin and allergies, and my whole house humidifier installed by ARS has made a significant difference in the winter months. I would get your system checked to make sure it is running properly, and check out your terms of service to see if there is any way you can get it serviced by another company who may provide more reliable equipment and services. I know how irritating living in a dry house can be to allergies and skin. Good luck to you!
     
  9. Mr. Linux

    Mr. Linux Senior Member & Moderator Forum Staff

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    Keep in mind that most Aprilaire units require that you replace the evaporator panel about once a year, or every other year if you can clean it and remove any deposits, etc stuck within the panel. If you don't replace the evaporator panel as instructed, it will eventually begin to 'crumble' and can become a breeding ground for bacteria, etc, as well as seriously reduce it's efficiency...
     
  10. lauralynne

    lauralynne Member

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    Thanks everyone for the responses so far! I wonder if there are any companies that will guarantee some measure of improved humidity and am also wondering how expensive/ cumbersome the yearly filter maintenance is. I'm thinking of having a humidifier installed only on the upstairs furnace to start. I guess I can always boil some water downstairs to increase the humidity there ...
     
  11. fidothedog

    fidothedog Member

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  12. Mr. Linux

    Mr. Linux Senior Member & Moderator Forum Staff

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    The filter replacement takes me about 2 minutes on my Aprilaire 560 unit; it's extremely simple.
     
  13. z28lt1

    z28lt1 New Member

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    I doubt you'll get any guarantees. Is your upstairs furnace in the attic? If so, most installers won't recommend (or even do it). You don't want all that water running around upstairs in case of a leak.

    We have it on our downstairs unit and the humidity works its way up with the heat. Downstairs tends to be about 3% more humid, but it gets pretty close.
     
  14. lauralynne

    lauralynne Member

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    Hello everyone,

    We got several bids on humidifiers ranging from $625 installed to $1,300.00 installed.

    We chose the company with which we have an HVAC service contract, so the job is on the cheaper side. It looks like we will get either an Aprilaire 600 or an Aprilaire 700, depending on which one the installer thinks will work best in our crawl space. (I'm not sure what the difference is; the 600 model has a "built-in bypass damper," whatever that means?)

    It is correct that no one will install the unit in the attic. At night, we usually keep the downstairs thermostat at 55 degrees and the upstairs one at 65. I'm concerned that, since the downstairs furnace will run less often, we may not get enough humidity flowing upstairs, where we spend 12 hours a day. I'll let you know how it goes!
     
  15. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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    Wow, you're hard core! I only drop ours down to about 68. Is it worth the cost to run the unit harder to bring it up to temp in the mornings or is it better to set it closer to your daytime temp? I've never heard a good consensus on that.
     
  16. Brassy

    Brassy Hiyah

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    We have a sears humidifier that handles the 2nd floor and sits on the landing at the top of the stairs. You pretty much have to refill the 2 containers each night, but it also helps to humidify the first floor in the front, as well. We have an Aprilaire humidifier as well. It doesn't seem to work so well on the main floor as we get a lot of static build up and especially so if we run the gas fireplace for awhile. With the grand piano and all the woodwork and wood floors, we have to keep our main floor humidifiesd between 35-45%. Our heat is usually set for the whole house at 67F
     
  17. lauralynne

    lauralynne Member

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    Hi, We don't bring the downstairs temp from 55 up to 65 up in the morning, only in the evening. So it is at 55 degrees probably 19 hours a day. Yes, we sometimes keep our coats on for a little while when we come home!
     
  18. z28lt1

    z28lt1 New Member

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    Let us know how it goes. We drop our heat downstairs at night, but people are home all day, so it is on during the day. We get a good 13 hours of heat on the day and that seems enough for the humidity to work its way upstairs. Curious to see what your 6 hours does.
     
  19. lauralynne

    lauralynne Member

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    We got the Aprilaire installed in the crawl space a few days ago. We set it at 45% humidity, and it works great on the main level. We feel much more comfortable when we are downstairs. Upstairs, we feel a little more comfortable, mainly in the alcove and hallway areas. The downstairs heat doesn't really get into the upstairs bedrooms, so unfortunately there's really no change in those rooms. I wish we could get some kind of leak-safe humidifier upstairs.
     
  20. wahoogeek

    wahoogeek New Member

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    glad its working (for your layout anyway). Your setting could be high, make sure you check for condensation on windows and other cold(er) surfaces, especially when the outside temperature drops (or did you get the version that has an outside air temp sensor that decreases the setting automatically?). Too much moisture and condensation can lead to other problems (its a balancing act).
     

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